Former MISD secretary sentenced to 19 months

Audrie PalmerMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 2:35 pm, Friday, January 7, 2011

A former Midland Freshman High School secretary will spend the next 19 months in federal prison for embezzling school funds and was ordered to pay back almost $78,000 in restitution by Judge Robert Junell.

Anette Brewer Fitzhugh wil spend her time at the federal corrections prison at Carswell and must participate in a mental health, inmate education and inmate job- training programs while incarcerated.

She then will spend three years in supervised release and pay $77,826.74 in restitution.

Of the restitution, $28,826.74 will be paid to the MISD and internal auditor's office, while $49,000 will be paid to Bond Safeguard/ Lexon Insurance Co., court documents stated.

While working as a secretary for the freshman school from Dec. 2007 to June 2010, Fitzhugh wrote checks to herself from the high school's activity fund.

She was arrested on Aug. 17 after she was accused of stealing money and committing bank fraud.

Fitzhugh issued checks to herself from a Wells Fargo account, according to court documents.

She also falsely represented herself to her supervisors and asked them to sign checks that she told them were to be issued to vendors who were owed money from the fund.

At other times, she forged her supervisor's signatures.

Fitzhugh has until noon on Feb. 9 to turn herself in to begin her sentence, court records showed.